


Gender: Detective

by kylee



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Other, genderqueer headcanon, hand-holding, pronoun avoidance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-14 23:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2206722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylee/pseuds/kylee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"But it must be troublesome for you to be seen with me," Naoto said, and Kanji stared.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gender: Detective

Naoto Shirogane met Kanji Tatsumi outside the station for a date. This was a joke, right? Naoto Shirogane, Detective Prince, Investigation Teammate, Miss Yasogami High, here to see Kanji -- for a _date_. He blushed as soon as he saw the Detective Prince, coming down the escalator in a double-breasted jacket with a high collar shirt, and he felt under-dressed.

Here. _Naoto_.

It'd taken something like forever for Kanji to blurt it out. After all, Naoto was so damn smart all the time, who'd believe Kanji's fumbling crush hadn't already been noticed and dismissed -- but Rise reassured him, "Naoto doesn't think about that kind of thing. You gotta go right up to her and tell her how you feel!"

And then Rise all but pushed him.

"Hey! Uh. Wannagosomwerwime."

"I'm sorry, was that a request I go som ... wer?"

"Somewhere. With me. O-On a date or whatever."

"Oh!" Naoto squeaked. Naoto had a really _cute_ squeak.

And now they were walking close around Okina, hands hovering from time to time as though they might dart out and catch each other, the two of them breaking into nervous coughs and shy laughter.

A _date_.

"But it must be troublesome for you to be seen with me," Naoto said, and Kanji stared.

" _What_? Troublesome? No way."

"When we're proximate, we're perceived as a couple, and passersby observe us much longer to ascertain what kind of couple we are. Many of them might come to the conclusion that you are dating a man. I wonder if you would prefer it if I were someone more feminine ... or at least, masculine enough to be judged as a mere friend."

"Hell no!" Kanji blushed again at his outburst. "I wouldn't 'prefer' it. Stuff like that used to bother me, but it doesn't matter 'cause you're you. You're smart and cool and kinda ... uh. You're Naoto Shirogane. I'm proud bein' seen with you."

A small smile lifted Naoto's lips. "Thank you, Tatsumi-kun."

"S'true. Uh, do you mind if people think we're two guys or something?"

"I couldn't say. I used to long to be seen as a man so I could become a detective, and then I longed -- I strove -- to be recognized as a detective and a woman. But I was so unused to girlhood that it still felt like a disguise. It's a pity that 'detective' isn't a gender category on its own."

"Hey, I get it. I've never been in your shoes, but ... I wanted to be a real man, whatever that is, and I thought no one'd accept me. It's different, but I do know one thing: no one gets to say if you're a man or not but you. And if you say you're a detective, you're a detective."

"You do need training to be a detective."

"No, but I mean ... it can be a gender category for _you_ , right?"

Naoto laughed -- a sweet, rustling sound Kanji couldn't believe was because of him -- and reached to pull down the usual cap, only to find capless hair. "Naoto Shirogane, Gender: Detective?"

"Sure. _I_ like it."

"So do I." Hand still nestled in loose blue hair, Naoto hesitated before letting it drop. "May we hold hands, Tatsumi-kun?"

"What?" Kanji squeaked. It was, in Naoto's opinion, adorable. "Y-Yeah. Sure. If you want."

Hand in hand they walked, not boy and girl, but boy and detective.


End file.
